Rockin out on final night

Becca feelin the Bluegrass Band!

23 hours of roo

Pearl Jam was exceptional. What was scheduled for a 2 hour set turned into a monumental triple encore 3 hour marathon. The crowd was very connected to the music, and the band certainly held up to their end of the bargain. They did an amazing cover of The Who's "Rain on Me" about midways through the 1st set. Then the close of the show after three hours they tore into a powerful cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower". We waited around for the scheduled start of Kanye West's hyped up all glow in the dark special. What we got was a 2 hour delay and a very lame packaged hip hop space musical. The roo'ers momentarily lost their complacent festival spirit since they invested an entire night on this ridiculously over-hyped glamfest that was rumored to feature a grounbreaking glow in the dark performance. The sunrise was breaking about 45 minutes into the "show", and folks had already
lost their patience before Mr. West took the stage. From all I have experienced in my short time it occurs to me that what makes this event such a desirable draw is the genuine, intimate, and inspired acts this venue schedules. I feel like this attempt to mix things up to attract a larger crowd backfired severly. I am running out of steam so I am going to close out for now. I will right some fresher material after a quick nap.

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Spoon haters UNITE!

I have to say that todays wardrobe choice has drawn more comments than anything else this week. I can't count the number of people who have said something positive to me. I even had some girl with nothing but body paint on tell me she loved my shirt, to which I quickly resonded without thinking that I loved the fact she didn't have one! She simply smiled and for a second considered giving me a hug. I blame it on the heat. It is a very gracious and pleasant atmosphere here. Some lovely folks a few spaces down from us shared their watermelon with me. Day 2's music has been good so far. No one today topped the Raconteurs or Stephen Marley. We watched a Gypsy Punk band named Gogol Bordello, that was festive. Then we watched BB King in his regal and wise 82 years ramble through a 1 hour set. All of my most cherished musical selections are deeply rooted in the blues. It was an 8 track tape "
BB King live from Cook County Jail" my grandfather found when he purchased a used Lincoln Continental that I have to thank for that influence. This was my 2nd live performance by Mr. King. He isn't able to play near as much, but he still has that distinctive voice and style. We are cooling off at the site now listening to Jack Johnson run through his set, very relaxing tempo his band is laying down for us. Pearl Jam is up for a 2 hour set at 10:30pm. After that a 1 hour performance by a little known group named the Dead Confederates. Then at 2:15am Kanye's All Glow Show will no doubt change our world. Then it is a screening of Maltese Falcon. Somewhere around 7am we should wrap up Day 3. Later...

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Further commentary on last night.

Since my battery was ending I had to make last nights review brief. I have since found some juice I wanted to expand on the scene a little more. First off, I chose by pure coincidence to wear my AC/DC tee shirt (it was clean). Once I made it to the VIP area I found a good angle to clearly see the opening. The crowd was enormous, and jacked up as well. All of a sudden the sound system cranks out "long way to the top if you want to rock n roll" from the good ole Bon Scott days of AC/DC. There was an instant recognition from all those in my proximity and I was overtaken by fired up metal heads all wanting to give me high fives and fist pumps. I started to tell them I wasn't an official represented of that wonderful band from Australia, but I was too busy enjoying the gratification from my eager brethren. So, as I mentioned previously Metallica opened with a thunderous rendition of Creeping
Death". Their entire setlist was from the black album and before. All pre-napster controversy. It was as if the band decided to renew their vows with the faithful diehards. Metallica's lyrics have a deep connection to their fans personal lives. This observation was clearly obvious during "Sad but True". Hetfield is a master at ochestrating his legions, and it is a sight to see someone command the audience so deftly. My favorite moment was most likely during "One" from And Justice For All. They fired up some massive pyrotechnics and effects to enhance the dramatic staging for this song. I also very much enjoyed "Nothing Else Matters" and "Unforgiven". Overall the entire setlist was very appropriate and well received by the mass of true believers. The covenant with Metallica's followers has been restored. I am pleased to have been able to witness it. Today is a full slate of must see
events. I can't imagine anything topping Day 2, but I am eager to find out. We have a slew of choices to make, but we are all in accordance with being there for BB King, Pearl Jam, and Kanye West. Stay Tuned, it might be a while before I get to check back in. I may not even have time to eat today.

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Return of the King

Tonight it was the return of the Kings of METAL. I wasn't certain what to expect from the band I have listened to since my sophomore year of high school. My cousin Greg, who has always had a darker edge, introduced me to them after his guitar instructor turned him on to them. I thought their sound was great, but I never dreamed I would be out amongst a sea of devoted followers watching Metallica blast through a 2 hour power set some 22 years later. It poured a solid rain for an hour before they were due to play an hour and a half as tonights headliner. I came real close to sticking around our site since we are only four rows from the main stage fence. Instead I found myself trudging through to the VIP section just to get a good view of the crowd and the performance. The rain stopped as I got into the venue and the largest crowd I have seen here thus far was in prime form. They opened
with "creeping death" and closed with "enter sandman". It was an awesome performance, and I was glad to see they still have it. This was a wonderful close to an amazing day of music. From Marley to Raconteurs and finally Metallica I have had the best day in a long, long time! Good nite for now.

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Breaking News

I was going to save my battery and do a post later after the Metallica set, but I couldn't wait to bring you the news! Rock & Roll is not dead! I just heard it and it shook me down to the core. A wonderful ensemble from Knoxville called the Raconteurs just floored me. They came on at 5pm after Stephen Marley. It was so incredible, I just wish I knew how to work the video on this phone. Loaded with long, blues infused sustains, reverb, feedback, powerful percussion and bass, and two leads, one a very charismatic frontman whose name I am unfamiliar with. I assure you this though, I am going to be finding out more about him and the rest of this band. And as soon as possible I am going to aquire their album, it's a must! These guys got ahold of me so much my eyes welled up a few times during their deepest tracks. Fresh, genuine, and with a dues paid demeanor these guys tore up the largest
stage in this venue with a blistering hour and a half set that held the audience through every song to the end. I didn't want it to be over. Well, that's all my battery is going to allow. More to come when I get to a car charger...

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Stephen Marley is the best!

Thoroughly enjoying Stephen Marley and his band. Very rich sound. I was especially moved by "everything is going to be alright". I need to listen to that more often. I have a tough time believing in that sometimes, but this trip has opened my eyes. If you get the chance you need to check his show out. The crowd is really getting it. So far this is the best performance I have seen this week. Unforgettable...

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Day 2

It is day 2 and it is much warmer and less breezy today. The sky is indicating a good rain is coming on soon. Last night we watched the Vampire Weekend set all the way through. Afterwards we cruised over to Lez Zeppelin, an incredible cover band, and they are all lesbians. We only stayed for a couple of songs but were there long enough to catch a powerful rendition of "in my time of dying" off the physical graffiti album. That is one of my favorite songs by Zeppelin, and it showcases both the raw power of John Bonham's drum skills, and sophisticated guitar work of Jimmy Page. They followed it up with "since I've been lovin you" off the Zeppelin II album, a very deep blues track that is difficult to pull off live. They did a good enough job on it, but clearly excelled covering the latter tracks from physical graffiti and presence. Got back to the tent around 1am and was too worn out to
go back to the cinema tent at 4am for Maltese Falcon. I get another shot at that film Saturday night. Took an ice cold shower this morning and strolled about. We met some nice folks named Luke & Kayla from Conecticut last night at super. Ironically we ran into them again when we made an ice run, and again at lunch. They were here for Allman Brothers too, but like me they have found enough to enjoy the scene. Becca and Ben are going to see a couple of shows while Philip and I check out the cinema tent again. We might go see Umphries McGee later. Tonight is Metallica, we heard them tuning up this morning and they sounded pretty good. More later...

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Vampire Weekend

It's almost midnight here. Running on my 21st hour since I got up and began this trip. We are listening to a "bubblegum" band named Vampire Weekend. They have a clean sound with a good rythym. There is a hint of carribean influence in the beat and bass. I can see how this sound would be a hit in the summer at the beach or poolside. I am giving some thought to cruising to an alternate stage to hear some lesbian Led Zeppelin cover band. That may sound ridiculous but at this hour how bad could it be? In 4 hours the classic "Maltese Falcon" with Humphrey Bogart plays at the cinema tent. Till later...

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Night Life

It is a surreal scene of colors and sounds as we venture through the crowd at Centeroo this comfortable evening. A pleasing vibe of energy emminates from the crowd at each stage. A brass band from resurgent New Orleans pumps out a fusion of jazz crossed with funk sets the beat and mood while happy roo'ers flash multi colored glow sticks and frisbees. Just a short stroll away some band called management weaves a modern psychadelic wave through the mesmerized audience. Overhead a crisp half moon hangs over the venue, reminding us of our tiny relevance to the entirety of the Universe.

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Ready to eat!

We are cooling off next to the air conditioned food tent waiting on it to open. It has been woderful so far. We ventured over to the cinema tent first thing when we got here. Saw a wonderful documentary on Live Earth with some terrific international performances. Afterwards we watched the beginning of a film on Palestinian Hip Hop. Didn't get that one completed as it was time to hunt Becca & Ben. We have some Canadians camping alongside our site who seem very friendly. I am leery though as, after all, they're Canadian. There is such an enormous list of performers I am uncertain who we will be seeing first. I will report back with a review though as soon as we get a show in.

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we have settled in!

Without any drama or trauma we have made it to our site and set everything up already by noon. We decided to go with VIP tickets, and believe me this was a great decision. We passed over 12 miles of standstill traffic rolling along unencumbered to the special VIP exit. We got through check-in, security, and campsite setup in an hour and a half. It's time to track down some lunch and get our bearings on the scene here. Stay tuned for more updates later...

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Countdown to Bonnaroo

Coming Soon!
Since I am about to go to Bonnaroo for the first time I decided to turn the experience into a blog. If modern technology permits, and my cell phone battery lasts, I will posting a daily account of what I encounter in Manchester this week. We are planning to leave out very early Thursday morning. I began this journey in hopes of finally seeing the Allman Brother's Band. Unfortunately thanks to Greg Allman's illness the band will not be performing this week. So now I pin my entertainment hopes on B.B. King as the anchor for this event. I saw him many years ago, and have always loved his music. Some day should I live long enough, and Greg Allman's health returns, I will see the band who inspired my daughter's name. I hope to have a whole lot to write about in the coming days. With technical assistance I might even be able to post some pictures. Till then stay tuned!

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